Who are some good contemporary short story writers?

I don't know user, he's a Boomer. I heard about Lincoln in the Bardo, but I'm prejudiced against historical fanfiction.

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Raymond Carver is great - he's THE writer of the 1980s-ish. (The trouble is, everyone started copying him.)
I just didn't mention him because I wouldn't really call him "contemporary".

He writes very bare, cut-down, "simple" stories, a bit Hemingway-esque, where everything goes on under the surface.

He was an alcoholic for much of his life and a lot of his stories are about that, and about stress and dysfunctional relationships, but don't let that put you off.

He's a must-read.

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>dude drinking and low ambition prose

Sounds insufferably pedestrian. Kind of thing hacks who fall for creative writing courses would be attracted to

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you haven't read him

Not an argument

his short stories are good. I particularly like the way he amped up the inadequacies of contemporary men and the arbitrary cruelty of people into soul-crushing black comedy in the collection "civilwarland in bad decline".

I've not read lincoln bardo, but I thought we were talking about short stories.

>spoilers

you cunt

It does sound annoying and self-indulgent - that's exactly why I said "don't let that put you off".

"You haven't read him" is a pretty good argument, actually.

Just try "Fat" or "Cathedral" or "Everything Stuck To Him".

Then, if you still don't like him, fair enough; but I would lay long odds you'll change your mind.

>"You haven't read him" is a pretty good argument, actually.

Do not see an argument here

Has anyone compared Carver's original stories (like "what we talk about.....") before Gordon Lish edited them.

Its a real eye opener. The short sentenced punchy style of Carver, for which he is renowned, is almost entirely down to Glish's handy work.

For what its worth I much preferred Carver's initial writings.

Looks gay, is the entire book in dialogue?

You were making empty assumptions with no actual experience or working knowledge of the thing you are criticizing. There is nothing you can say about it that is an argument.

I make clear delineated statements about the content of his work ergo an argument.
Meanwhile no argument has been presented against my propositions

David Constantine

The argument is that you have no basis for the premises you assert. It's an invalid argument.

i've decided to read a ton of modern short stories this year.

just finished 'treats' by lara williams which was pretty depressing but i liked it

also just finished 'we don't know what we're doing' by thomas morris which was very funny and reminded me of george saunders

next i'm going to order 'fen' by daisy johnston which got good reviews.

There are strengths and weaknesses, like the unedited counterpart to "The Bath" is pretty meandering and at times comically melodramatic, but on the other hand any further editing along the lines of Lish would ruin "Cathedral."

>That's not what love is lol
Any recs for stories by him that don't suck??

Not contemporary but I just read The Swimmer and liked it.

James Purdy
Also the Gordon Lish circle generally is pretty good.

To say the later stories, unedited by Lish, are all to Carver's credit is a fallacy. Lish, having made Carver by taking his cold edge to the earlier sentimental stories left an indelible mark deeper than the stories, on Carver's inner critic. He improved the inner critic by teaching it how to cut the inner creative spirit's excesses. Obviously Lish is going to cut more and differently, that's Lish's style, but Lish's style deeply influenced Carver and made Carver in the same way that the influence of Sherwood Anderson made Faulkner and Gertrude Stein made on Hemingway. There would still be no Lish without Carver.

This.
I have. Post a story that isn't "what we talk about" so I can give him another go please.

No Lish without Carver, but also no Carver without Lish.

His writing is the premise you idiot, there is no invaldity there. I'm making statements about his work not my reading of it, my own perspective is irrelevant in this regard.
You may not like me making it but it doesn't affect the propositions themselves

Nvm thx

You can make all the statements you want, they have no ground if you have no ground in them.

>I have nothing to contribute and feel insecure, let's start a fight

The ground is right there you fucking looner, if a book is bad its bad whether I read it or not

You can make no value judgments on pure conjecture. I know this is Veeky Forums but please never talk about books you haven't read as if you have read them.

>Fat
A little better than "love can mean different things" (or whatever it's called) but not much. Will try cathedral.

Andre Dubus for the guy killing his cuck son’s killer

>You can make no value judgments on pure conjecture.

Eh no I totally fucking can and if my claims were so out there you could easily disprove them but clearly they're not since all you've been doing is crying like a little nerdy bitch

There is really no reason anyone can honestly engage with someone who refuses to honestly engage in the first place. Until you can get over this hurdle there is really nothing more to say.

Thanks, I didn't like that story. I'll try and reserve further judgment.